Soap cake



(No Model.)

L. s. SAMBL. SUAP CAKE.

No. 549,336( Patented Nov. 5, 1895.

@Me/whom Z4, y@ @2p/@M @emu UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEOPOLD S, SAMUEL, OF NEWARK, NEV JERSEY.

SOAP CAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 549,330, dated November 5, 1.89 5.

Application filed February 21, 1895. Serial No. 539,222. (No specimens.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LEOPOLD S. SAMUEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Soap Cakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements upon that class of soap cakes represented by the one shown in my prior patent, No. 393,928, dated December et, 1888, the ob- -jects of the present improvements being to secure a more firm and stable union of sections in the cake, to provide a soap cake in which two or more different medicaments may be applied to the face or other part by one application of the said cake to the part or to the wash-rag or sponge, to enable the user to distinguish one variety of soap section from another, whereby the particular medicament desired may be employed, to provide a covering or inclosure for the soap adapted to admit a clear sight of the sections within, and to secure other advantages and results, some of which will be referred to hereinafter in connection with the Vdescription of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved sectional soap cake and in the arrangement and combination of parts, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters indicate corresponding parts in each of the views, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved soap cake. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of the cake with certain outer wrappers removed. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the cake, showing more clearly the relation of the several parts .one to the other. Fig. i is a perspective view of an end covering which is preferably transparent or translucent to admit of a view of the sections within; and Fig. 5 is a plan of -one of the sections, showing certain receptacles for medicaments formed therein, said views being deemed sufficient to fully illustrate the invention.

In my prior soap cake above referred to I employed two sections of soap of one variety in which were formed chambers opening toward the meeting faces of the sections, so as to be closed when the sections were brought together. These chambers were filled with desired medicaments. By this construction it was necessary that the soap cake wear down to the chamber before the medicaments therein became applicable to the skin. This required very considerable time in ordinary use of the cake where the chambers were all within the periphery or side surfaces of the cake. Where the chambers extended through said surfaces the appearance of the cake was marred thereby, the medicaments were exposed and thus lost strengtlnand when of other than a plastic nature were apt to be spilled or otherwise lost out of the receptacle, and when subjected to a dissolving agent the medicament, especially if it were of a salty nature, dissolved from the receptacle with undue rapidity, and thus its benefits were not equally and uniformly effective. Then, again, because the medicament was concentered within the receptacle or chamber but a limited contact was allowed, while the bulk of the contact-surface was occupied by the unmedicated soap and the efficiency of the cake was thus reduced. vThese objections and others are avoided in the present invention, in which the medicaments are evenly distributed throughout the sections, (although receptacles such as referred to may also be provided,) and the cake as a whole provides more than one medicament constantly and evenly at its end contact-surface, which perform their beneficial functions simultaneously and in one application of the cake. The interchangeability of the sections enables prescriptions to be prepared quickly by the druggist or dealer to meet particular skin diseases or troubles;but in practice I can provide a large variety of combinations, each of which is characterized by a letter, number, or description to suit.

In said drawings, a b indicate longitudinally disposed sections of the soap cake. The section a differs from the section b in that the rst embraces in its composition a IOO different medicament from that contained in section b. For example, the section a may, in addition to its saponaeeous ingredients, contain a medicinal ingredient, such as tar. The second section may cont-ain another different medicament, such as sulphur, in connection with its saponaccous ingredient. Likewise one section may contain arnica and another corrosive sublimate. Another cake may contain balsam of Peru in one section and in its second section benzoic acid. Another cake may contain in one section Lana oil and glycerine in its complement. In another cake bora-x and camphor may be employed and in another cucumber cream and witch hazel. Combinations of other wellknown medicaments may be employed and the combinations may be changed at will or as maybe deemed desirable. These sections are differently colored to more perfectly identify the individual cakes, the identifying colors and the medicaments associated therewith being in some cases referred to on the wrapper of the cake. lVhere, however, the medicaments themselves give tint to the cake additional pigments or coloring-matters may not be necessary.

The sections are arranged in groups of three or more, preferably four, so that without doing away with any one variety referred to on the wrapper or label I may vary the proportions of medicaments represented each by its section to suit special conditions or desires. For example, should sulphur and tar soaps be brought together for service under wrappers with proper identifying labels indicating the nature of the contents ordinarily I would place an equal number of sections of each variety in the cakes and place a dozen or half dozen of such cakes in boxes for the retail trade. Thus each cake would consist of two sections of sulphur soap and two sections of tar soap, and they would have the checkered arrangement shown, so as 't0 secure an even distribution over the surface to be soaped; but should there be a special demand upon the retailer for a greater proportion of tar by my construction and arrangement the same can be met by the retailer without disadvantage by simply removing one of the sulphur sections and substituting for it a section of tar taken from another cake in the box, the removed tar cake being replaced in the second cake by the sulphur section. Thus in the cake about to be sold the proportions are three of tar to one of sulphur. In the second cake, to be sold later, the proportions are one of tar to three of sulphur; but the cake is still one of sulphur and tar and the contents still accord with the label.

I may provide a cake with receptacles c, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5 and also indicated in my prior patent, to contain medicaments that are not homogeneous with the cake or are in a sense dissociated from the saponaceous body of the sections. The sections, as indicated, are of oblong rectangular shape, preferably, and are arranged together in groups of four, the receptacles for the non-homogeneous medicaments being on the inner sides and closed when the sections are joined together. Said sections on their outer sides are groove'd, as indicated at d in Fig. 5, to receive bands e, which hold the sections together while the outer wrappers are being placed thereon. They (said bands e) also add to the firmness of the cake and the strength of union of the sections thereof. To the outer sides of the cake is next applied a wrapperj' of cardboard or paper. This wrapper is preferably tacked to the cakes, as indicated in Fig. 2, by staples or double-pronged tacks 7c, and this wrapper, tacked as described, gives additional firmness to the cake, and also serves to prevent the joints formed by the union of the sections from giving a wrinkled or corrugated effect to the tin-foil wrapper next applied when pressure is brought thereon. The tin-foil is thus kept smooth and presents a uniform outer surface. Thus the effect of the double pointed or pronged tacks or staples is quite different from the use of an elastic band such as I employed in my former case, and which I also employ as an additional means for uniting the sections. The band wherever used admits of a limited movement of one section on the other, but holds the parts together so that there will be no complete detachment through accident; but the staples, while not holding the parts with the same security against complete detachment, unless madc very large and long-pronged, provide the desired rigidity or firmness of one section on another, and thus prevent the wrinkling, &c., above referred to when the cakesections are being applied. Outside of the said paper wrapper is next applied the tin-foil or similarly non-absorbent wrapper g, referred to, and outside of this in turn is another paper wrapper h, on which the name of the soap, a description of its merits, its ingredients, the card of the maker, &c., are advertised. This printed matter, however, may be upon the tin-foil or on any of the other wrappers.

-The several wrappers referred to do not entirely inclose the cake, but a visually-open end is provided, as shown in Fig. l. To prevent the evaporation of the perfumes, to prevent deterioration in the medicaments, and to protect the exposed surface of the soap, I prefer to employ a transparent or translucent end coverin g fi. This admits of a view of the ends of the sections beneath or within and yet serves the purposes named. Said end covering may simply consist of a strap-like piece, bent, as in Fig. 4, at its ends, so as to be inserted by merely passing the extremities under the wrappers first referred to. I may in some cases perforate this end covering, as shown in Fig. 4, to admit a limited escape of the perfume, so that said perfume may be better distinguished; but ordinarily this per foration is not necessary. The transparent IOO IIO

or translucent covering for the visually-open end may be more or less porous, or if said covering be impervious the edges may be more or less opened to allow an effusion of the perfume, as will be understood upon reference to Fig. l.

I am fully aware that various modifications may be made in the construction of the cake and the relations of the parts thereof to one another, and in some cases certain of the parts may be omitted. For example, I may dispense with the outer paper wrapper and make the tin-foil wrapper the outermost one, or, again, I may dispense with the inner paper wrapper, and in that event employ the single wrapper of tin-foil, the tin-foil in that-event being made much heavier and substantial; but ordinarily and by preference I employ the construction first described.-

In using the soap cake I remove the end covering and the outer paper wrapper containing the imprints or advertisements and then tear off a portion of the under wrapper at the open end of the cake and thus fully expose for service the various soap sections, so that the same may be rubbed upon the skin or upon the wash-rag .or other toilet article for use. In this manner the two distinct medicinal qualications may be elnployed at one and the same time.

Where the sections are provided with receptacles I may in some cases insert distinct compounds or materials in the different sections-that is to say, one medicament in one section and another medicament in another section.

I am fully aware that soap cakes have been formed from soaps of varying colors, the body portion of the cake of one color having impressed therein a chamber or chambers of a suitable form or design, such as that of a series of letters forming a word or words, and the said chamber or chambers being subsequently filled with asoap of another color, the soap being run into said chamber while yet in a liquid state and thus when hardened becoming integral with and inseparable from the body portions.

In my improvements the sections are not merely colored differently, but possess recognized medicinal qualities varying one from the other. The sections, furthermore, are independent and separable one from the other and admit of interchange and of a great variety of combinations to meet or accommodate the demands of the market with a comparatively few varieties of sections.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is- 1. The improved soap cake herein described, comprising a group of longitudinally joined separable saponaceous sections, differently medicated, inclosed in a wrapper, onel end of which wrapper is open to expose said differently medicated sections, the eX- posed end being covered by an independent translucent covering, said parts being combined, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the plurality of different colored and medicated soap sections, of a partial wrapper admitting the exposure of one set of ends of said sections, and a transparent wrapper, covering the exposed ends, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the differently colored and differently medicated separable soap sections, of a partial wrapper and an end covering of transparent and non-porous matter, such as Celluloid, substantially as set forth.

4C. The improved sectional soap cake herein described, consisting of a group of separable and differently medicated and colored saponaceous sections, the separable section of one medicinally distinct variety having a color different and distinct from that of another differently medicated section of said cake, and means for joining said sections, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of February, 1895.

LEOPOLD S. SAMUEL.

Vitnesses CHARLES H. PELL, B. BEATRICE CHARLES. 

